Heading : Subject Heading

What is Heading?

The word, words or phrase at the beginning of a catalogue entry, by which the place of that entry in the catalogue is determined. The heading forms the first of the five parts of a standard catalogue entry and is chosen by the cataloguer to indicate some special aspects of the work catalogued (authorship, series, title, subject, literary form, etc.) or to place an entry at a point in the catalogue where an enquirer may reasonably look. Generally, headings will consist of the name of an author, editor, compiler, etc. (whether individual or corporate), or the name of subject or literary form or the leading word of a title, or the name of a series. Both the choice of headings and the form in which each is to appear, are usually decided by reference to a code of cataloguing rules.

In AACR-II heading is rendered on leading line on main entry from the first indention. A heading may be of a person or corporate body. While in CCC the heading section is the second section. It is rendered on the first line after the leading line and second in sequence after it is put in title section. In CCC the heading is given as call number on heading line.